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Jeter plays catch; Hughes works seven frames

Jeff Nelson sits down with the captain Derek Jeter to talk about his ankle, the new acquisitions and the state of the 2013 Yankees

By Bryan Hoch and Adam Berry
/
MLB.com |

TAMPA, Fla. -- Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Phil Hughes spent a few hours at the Yankees' Minor League complex on Monday morning, putting in work at their various stages of injury rehabilitation.

Jeter, who has been resting his surgically repaired left ankle, played catch in the outfield for about eight minutes before heading back inside to work out and receive treatment. He hasn't taken any swings or fielded ground balls at shortstop since acknowledging that he wouldn't be ready for Opening Day.

Jeter hasn't appeared in a game since taking four at-bats in a Minor League game on March 23, and he hasn't played shortstop since March 13. Jeter arrived shortly before 10 a.m. ET and left the complex around 2:30 p.m. without speaking to reporters.

Granderson continued to track fly balls in center field on Monday morning, but he hasn't been cleared to throw. As he left the Yankees' Minor League facility, Granderson said his fractured right forearm was "getting better" and that he was scheduled to undergo follow-up X-rays on Monday afternoon.

On an adjacent field, Hughes took the mound for the Class A Advanced Tampa Yankees in an extended spring game. The right-hander threw seven innings, as planned, and left the complex shortly after Jeter.

Hughes' next start should come for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, the day he's eligible to come off the disabled list. That would put him in line to join the Yankees' rotation on April 11, if all goes well in his next Minor League outing.